Field
The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly including a power supply terminal.
Related Art
In a related art electrical connector assembly, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,734,167, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, there is a connector assembly as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the related art example of FIG. 1, the electrical connector assembly includes an intermediate connector 10 having a housing 11 and two power supply terminals 21. The housing 11 is made of an electrical insulating material and has a substantial rectangular tubular shape with a space penetrating in a vertical direction. The power supply terminal 21 is supported by the housing 11 and extending in the vertical direction within the space of the housing 11 penetrating vertically. The power supply terminal 21 is made from a metal and has a shape of a straight pin. In the related art example of FIG. 1, the power supply terminal 21 is made as a rigid body and includes a main body portion 22 and a flange portion 23. The main body portion 22 has a shape of a pin with a circular sectional shape. The flange portion 23 is provided in a lower portion of the power supply terminal 21. The flange portion 23 has a shape of a ring projecting outward in a direction of a radius of the main body portion 22. An upper end and a lower end of the main body portion 22 are formed to be rounded. Further, the flange portion 23 includes a circumferential surface 23A having a conic shape expanding in a lower direction.
The housing 11 for supporting the power supply terminal 21 having the rectangular tubular shape has a rectangular sectional shape which is elongated in a direction the power supply terminals 21 are arranged. The housing 11 includes receptacle portions 12 and 13 in an upper and lower edge portions thereof, respectively. The terminal penetrating portion 14 has a hole formed between thin walls 16 as being viewed in the direction perpendicular to a direction the power supply terminals 21 are arranged. A space is formed between an inner surface of the thin wall 16 and the power supply terminal 21. In addition, the thin wall 16 forms a space 16A between a rear side thereof and a sidewall 17.
As shown in the related art example of FIG. 1, there is a terminal penetrating portion 14 which includes an elastic arm portion 18 in the lower portion thereof. The elastic arm portion 18 extends from a middle portion of the sidewall 17 of the housing 11, at a position situated on an upper side relative to the flange portion 23. The elastic arm portion 18 extends in the lower direction. The elastic arm portion 18 engages a lower surface of the flange portion 23 with a hook portion 18A provided in a lower end thereof. Additionally, a locking arm 19A extending in the lower direction and capable of elastic displacement is provided in a lower portion.
Accordingly, the upper surface of the flange portion 23 is held by the bottom portion of a concaved portion and an edge portion of the thin wall 16 in one of the direction of the radius, as well as the lower surface of the flange portion 23 is held by the hook portion 18A of the elastic arm portion 18 in a direction perpendicular to the direction supra. Thereby, the power supply terminal 21 is positioned vertically.
However, in some designs requiring shorter electrical connector assemblies (e.g. millimeters of reduction), a problem can occur that when the related art electrical connector assembly is made shorter, the elastic arm portion 18 may not be implementable within the related art electrical connector assembly due to lack of available spacing. Further, in some cases where the elastic arm portion 18 is implementable within a shorter version of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 1, reduction of flexibility of the intermediate connector 10 may occur due to lack of available space. In some implementations of the electrical connector assembly, the intermediate connector 10 may have a minimum length restricted by the length of the elastic arm portion 18, which may be larger than the desired implementation.